Intense Cycles have a new toy coming our way soon. The ACV (Air Cushioned Vehicle) is the first Plus-format bike from the Californian crew, combining big rubber and trail bike numbers.
We’ve got high expectations for this bike; we were blown away by the Spider 275C (read our full review here) and we’ve more generally been stoked on the new Plus format too. So we’ve got a feeling that bringing the Spider’s smooth confidence together with 2.8″ rubber is going to be a winning mix.
Intense: “The new ACV ( Air Cushioned Vehicle ) is Intense’s adventure trail bike. In the US Military, the ACV is a tactical transport vehicle or hovercraft that transitions through various terrain seamlessly. This is where 275+ trail bikes exceed. The larger volume tires allow the bike to transition from hard pack to loose, rocky, rooty terrain at a much more comfortable pace.”
It seems that the ACV shares a lot of construction similarities with the Spider, including a monocoque carbon frame, Boost rear hub spacing, and adjustable travel (115-130mm). It’s also appears to be single-ring only, which should allow Intense to widen the pivots and make it all very stiff. The ACV will be available in two build kits options, both with a 150mm Pike; a Pro kit for $9499 and a Foundation kit for $6699. Full geometry is below.
We’ll be trying to get one of these guys in our hands once they hit our shores.
